Quotes of the Week: February 8, 2015

“Billy Casper was one of the greatest family men—be it inside the game of golf or out—I have had the fortunate blessing to meet. He had such a wonderful balance to his life. Golf was never the most important thing in Billy’s life—family was. There was always much more to Billy Casper than golf. But as a golfer, Billy was a fantastic player, and I don’t think he gets enough credit for being one.” - on the passing of Billy Casper

“Michelle and I offer our condolences on the passing of golf legend Charlie Sifford. Charlie was the first African-American to earn a PGA Tour card – often facing indignity and injustice even as he faced the competition. Though his best golf was already behind him, he proved that he belonged, winning twice on Tour and blazing a trail for future generations of athletes in America. I was honored to award Charlie the Presidential Medal of Freedom last year.” - on the passing of Charlie Sifford.

“It’s been tough – very tough … He’s like my grandpa that I never had. And it’s been a long night and it’s going to be a long few days. But he fought, and what he did, the courage it took for him to stick with it and be out here and play, I probably wouldn’t be here, my dad would have never picked up the game, and who knows if the clause would still exist or not. But he broke it down.” - on the passing of Charlie Sifford

“It’s unfortunate, because I consider him a friend and I want to see him get back to his level of play that we all know he can, and I don’t think he’s that far off. If he can just stay healthy and be able to work on it, I think we would see the results.” – on Tiger Woods’ recent struggles

“You can’t compete out here putting the way I did … It was one of my worst putting performances, and the first few weeks, really, have been the same way. You simply can’t compete at this level putting like that. I’m down, I’m frustrated.” - on missing back-to-back PGA Tour cuts for the first time since 2002

“(Tiger will) have the last laugh … I don’t think he’s going to have any problems, I really don’t … I think we all, myself included, have had stretches where we feel a little uncomfortable, we don’t hit it solid, and usually it’s just a small tweak. Because it’s such a short swing it’s not a hard thing to fix. I just don’t see that lasting more than a week or two.” – on Tiger Woods’ recent struggles

“It’s just my glutes are shutting off … Then they don’t activate and then, hence, it goes into my lower back. So, I tried to activate my glutes as best I could, in between, but they never stayed activated.” - on withdrawing from the Farmers Insurance Open

“He said, ‘If my career ended today, I’d be happy with what I’ve done ' … And I’m just telling you, that’s what he told me. So I think he is fine with where he is. If his career ended today, I think he’d feel great about what he has done. This thing that the media has drum up that Tiger’s No. 1 goal, the No. 1 driving factor in all of Tiger’s life is to beat Jack (Nicklaus)'s record - I’m just going to tell you that I was with him for six years, 110 days per year and I never got that feeling … Never, never did I get that feeling that that was driving him.” - on Woods’ goals of chasing records

“My locker mate at Augusta always welcomed me with a hug, smile, story or two, and his many grandchildren shaking my hand. A prolific golfer, friend to many, and a man whose legacy truly is his family. A role model for all athletes. My condolences and prayers are with the Billy Casper family.” – on the passing of Billy Casper

“Billy was one of the true gentlemen of the game and a great competitor. He was a better player than most people give him credit for being and is going to be sorely missed in the golf world. My deepest sympathies go out to Shirley and the family.” - on the passing of Billy Casper